How To Make The World Add Up By Tim Harford

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Tim Harford reads from his new book decoding the truth behind statistics.

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Beware Of Your Emotions

20201207

20201208 (R4)

In this first episode, Tim tells the story of the eminent Dutch art historian Abraham Bredius, who was tricked into believing a crude forgery was actually a lost masterpiece by Vermeer. Tim uses this cautionary tale to warn us of the power our emotions have to distort rational thinking.

Put Words Before Numbers

20201208

20201209 (R4)

In this second episode, Tim argues that, when faced with a statistic, we should avoid diving straight into the maths and ask a simple question instead - what is actually being measured or counted here? When we know the answer to that question, we can start to think constructively about the numbers involved and avoid what he calls premature enumeration'.

Question The Algorithm

20201209

20201210 (R4)

In this third episode, Tim examines the role of big data and algorithms in our lives in the wake of this summer's furore over A Level and GCSE grades. He draws a fascinating analogy between the secret algorithms of big companies today and the secrecy of the doomed alchemists of the seventeenth century.

Keep An Open Mind

20201210

20201211 (R4)

In this fourth episode, Tim describes the contrasting lives of two of the 20th century's greatest economists - Irving Fisher and John Maynard Keynes. Fisher was a teetotal vegetarian who married his childhood sweetheart; Keynes was a bisexual hedonist and part of the Bloomsbury Group. Both men failed to predict the Wall Street crash of 1929 but their reactions to it were very different and, Tim argues, a vital lesson to us all.

Step Back And Enjoy The Long View

20201211

20201212 (R4)

In this final episode, Tim urges us to take the long view of statistics and the way they are presented in the news. He suggests we consider the idea of the fifty year newspaper - topics that seemed earth-shattering to the daily newspapers of the time might not be mentioned at all, while huge changes in the world would scream from the front pages.

OMNI

20240831

20240901 (BBC7)

Tim Harford reveals how we can evaluate the statistical claims that surround us with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.

Statistics are vital in helping us understand the world. We see them in the papers and on social media, and we hear them used in everyday conversation. Yet we doubt them more than ever. But numbers – in the right hands – have the power to change the world for the better.

Tim argues that, contrary to popular belief, good statistics are not a trick, although they are a kind of magic.

Good statistics are like a telescope for an astronomer, a microscope for a bacteriologist or an X-ray for a radiologist. If we are willing to let them, good statistics help us see things about the world that we would not be able to see in any other way.

Book written by Tim Harford.

Omnibus of five parts abridged and produced by Jane Greenwood.

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2020.

*** Tim Harford is a columnist at the Financial Times and the presenter of BBC Radio 4's ‘More or Less' and ‘Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy.

He's also the author of the best-selling ‘The Undercover Economist'.

Tim Harford reads from his book decoding the truth behind statistics.

Tim Harford reveals how we can evaluate statistical claims with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Beware Of Your Emotions	20201207	20201208 (R4)	In this first episode, Tim tells the story of the eminent Dutch art historian Abraham Bredius, who was tricked into believing a crude forgery was actually a lost masterpiece by Vermeer. Tim uses this cautionary tale to warn us of the power our emotions have to distort rational thinking.
02	Put Words Before Numbers	20201208	20201209 (R4)	In this second episode, Tim argues that, when faced with a statistic, we should avoid diving straight into the maths and ask a simple question instead - what is actually being measured or counted here? When we know the answer to that question, we can start to think constructively about the numbers involved and avoid what he calls premature enumeration'.
03	Question The Algorithm	20201209	20201210 (R4)	In this third episode, Tim examines the role of big data and algorithms in our lives in the wake of this summer's furore over A Level and GCSE grades. He draws a fascinating analogy between the secret algorithms of big companies today and the secrecy of the doomed alchemists of the seventeenth century.
04	Keep An Open Mind	20201210	20201211 (R4)	In this fourth episode, Tim describes the contrasting lives of two of the 20th century's greatest economists - Irving Fisher and John Maynard Keynes. Fisher was a teetotal vegetarian who married his childhood sweetheart; Keynes was a bisexual hedonist and part of the Bloomsbury Group. Both men failed to predict the Wall Street crash of 1929 but their reactions to it were very different and, Tim argues, a vital lesson to us all.
05	Step Back And Enjoy The Long View	20201211	20201212 (R4)	In this final episode, Tim urges us to take the long view of statistics and the way they are presented in the news. He suggests we consider the idea of the fifty year newspaper - topics that seemed earth-shattering to the daily newspapers of the time might not be mentioned at all, while huge changes in the world would scream from the front pages.
OMNI		20240831	20240901 (BBC7)	Tim Harford reveals how we can evaluate the statistical claims that surround us with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism. Statistics are vital in helping us understand the world. We see them in the papers and on social media, and we hear them used in everyday conversation. Yet we doubt them more than ever. But numbers – in the right hands – have the power to change the world for the better. Tim argues that, contrary to popular belief, good statistics are not a trick, although they are a kind of magic. Good statistics are like a telescope for an astronomer, a microscope for a bacteriologist or an X-ray for a radiologist. If we are willing to let them, good statistics help us see things about the world that we would not be able to see in any other way. Book written by Tim Harford. Omnibus of five parts abridged and produced by Jane Greenwood. A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2020. *** Tim Harford is a columnist at the Financial Times and the presenter of BBC Radio 4's ‘More or Less' and ‘Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy. He's also the author of the best-selling ‘The Undercover Economist'. Tim Harford reads from his book decoding the truth behind statistics. Tim Harford reveals how we can evaluate statistical claims with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.